Sheet moistening means for duplicating machines



Dec. 18, 1962 H. P. KEIL 3,

SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

H6727 1' Kai! any.

Dec. 18, 1962 H. P. KElL 3,

SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES INVENTOR.

BY Hang R Kez'l Dec. 18, 1962 H, P. KElL 3,068,786

SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Li W INVENTOR.

Hezzr R Kez'l W Dec. 18, 1962 H. P. KElL 3,

SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 lllll BYmw a my.

Dec. 18, 1962 H. P. KEIL 3,068,786

SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

H. P. KEIL Dec. 18, 1962 SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. P, Ke [l H. P. KEIL Dec. 18, 1962 SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Jan. 18, 196 0 INVENTOR. BY Henzy P Kai! H. P. KElL Dec. 18, 1962 SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES Filed Jan. 18, 1960 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. Henry R Kei/ BYMJ/ZZJ H. P. KEIL Dec. 18, 1962 SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FOR DUPLICATING MACHINES 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Jan. 18, 1960 INVENTOR. HenZy K61! MM Uited States atent Ofilice Patented Dec. 18, 1962 Saidfid SHEET MOISTENING MEANS FUR EUPIJICATEYG MAEHINES Henry F. Keil, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Fixture Hardware Corporation, (Ihicago, IiL, a corporation of Illinois Filed Jan. 18, 196i), Ser. No. 3,112 Claims. (Cl. 161-1325) This invention relates to a novel moistening apparatus for a duplicating machine.

The invention is particularly adapted for use in liquid process duplicating machines wherein copy sheets are moistened on one face with a solvent liquid and then pressed against a master sheet which has the material to be copied printed thereon in reverse with hectographic ink. In machines of this type it is customary to mount the master sheet on the drum by means of a suitable gripping device and to press the copy sheet against the master sheet on the drum by means of a small resilient pressure roller. The copy sheets are fed between two adjacent rollers which are pressed together and are intermittently rotated from the drum. One of these rollers is moistened with the solvent liquid. In the present invention the moistening of the roller may be accomplished by either wick or roller moistening assemblies which transfer moisture from a trough whose liquid level is maintained by an automatic liquid source on the machine.

It is an object of this invention to provide an efficient moistening apparatus which is adapted to interchangeably utilize wick or roller moistening assemblies, dependent upon the choice of the operator and the type of printing to be done.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel wick mechanism wherein the pressure of the wick upon the moistening roller is positively controlled independent of the rotation of the roller. The pressure of the wick is also variable by known mechanisms not previously applied to wick-type moistening agents.

It is another object of the invention to feed the wick by direct insertion of one end into the trough or fountain and to control the amount of liquid transferred to the copy sheet by the moistening roller by means of an intermediate wiper wick. This wick serves to establish a constant degree of moistening on the moistening roller. It also obviates any necessity for priming the machine to wet the transfer wick.

These and further objects will present themselves from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings which show the invention utilizing both wick and roller type moistening assemblies. This description is exemplary of the invention, but is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined in the claims which follow it.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a machine embodying my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 2 2 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 33 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 4- in FIGURE 1 with the front side plate and the side guides left off;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIGURE 2 with the cover in raised position;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 6--6 in FIGURE 5 with portions of the wick assembly broken away;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 7-7 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 88 in FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 99 in FIGURE 6 with a portion of the wick broken away;

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the wick assembly, with portions broken away to better show its construction;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 11-11 in FIGURE 5 showing the wick assembly in its relaxed position;

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURE 11 showing the wick assembly in its compressed position;

FIGURE 13 is a fragmentary top view of the moistening area of the same machine with a roller moistening assembly substituted in place of the wick assembly;

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 1l4 in FIGURE 13 showing the roller moistening assembly in its relaxed position;

FIGURE 15 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIGURE 14 showing the roller moistening assembly in its compressed position; and

FIGURE 16 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line i6l6 in FIGURE 13 showing the roller moistening assembly in its compressed position.

In order to fully grasp the nature of this invention, a

complete understanding of the duplicating machine must be obtained. This is established in the following description by a referral to the pertinent parts of a liquid process type duplicating machine as they affect the moistening of the copy sheets. The overall machine is shown in FIG- URES 1-6. These figures plus FIGURES 7-12 show the use of a novel wick moistening assembly. FIGURES 13-16 show the adaptation of a roller moistening assembly to this same duplicating machine.

Referring now to the drawings, and to FIGURES 1-5 in particular, I have shown my invention as embodied in a duplicating machine comprising a pair of spaced apart side frames ill and 2.1 tied together by a plurality of cross rods 22, 23, 25, and 26. The master sheet drum shaft 27 is journalled between the side frames 2il-21, and carries thereon a master sheet drum 28. A copy sheet feed tray 29 is supported between the side frames 2% and 21 at one end of the machine, and the copy sheet receiving tray 3% is supported between the side frames 20 and 21 at the other end of the machine. A copy sheet feeder, generally indicated at 31 in the drawings, is provided above the feed tray 29 to feed copy sheets one at a time into printing engagement with the drum 2%. As illustrated best in FIGURE 2, the copy sheets, shown at 32, are

ed along an inclined ramp 29a of the feed tray 29, and

into engagement with a pair of rollers 33 and 34-. The roller 33 is a feed roller, and the roller 34 is a counter feed and moistening roller. The roller 33 is driven, by means hereinafter described, to advance the sheet 32 to the drum 28. A platen roller 35 is provided beneath the drum 28 and is engaged therewith. The copy sheets 32 are fed by the roller 33 and the moistening roller 34 into the bight between the platen roller 35 and the drum 28. The drum 2%, of course, has a master sheet wrapped therearound and secured thereto by a master sheet clamp 28a on the drum, and the copy sheet 32 is pressed into intimate contact with the master sheet as it is advanced between the drum 28 and the platen roller 35. The copy sheet 32 is propelled from the drum 28 into the receiving tray 30 after having left the drum 28 and having received indicia thereon from the master sheet.

As illustrated in the drawings, the feed roller 33 and the platen roller 35 are carried between spaced apart lever arms 36 which are pivoted to the side frames 20 and 21 by stub shafts 37. The lever arms 36 are pivotable about the stub shafts 37 so that the feed roller 33 and the platen roller 35 may be raised and lowered into and out of engagement with the moistening roller 34 and the drum 28 respectively. The mechanism for raising and lowering the feed roller 33 and the platen roller 35 is old and well known, and is described in detail in my prior Patent No. 2,856,847, issued October 21, 1958. Basically the raising and lowering mechanism for the lever arms 36 comprises stop members 38 on the arms 36 which engage trip levers 39 fixed to a shaft 49 which extends between the side frames 29 and 21. By rotating the shaft it to move the trip levers 39 from the position shown in FIGURE 2 upwardly, they may be disengaged from the stops 38 to permit the lever arms 36 to pivot downwardly and lower the feed roller 33 and platen roller 35. The mechanism for rotating the shaft 41 comprises an operating handle 41 journalled on the tie rod 26 which is connected by a lever 42, a link 43, and a lever 1, to the shaft 40 in such a way that movement of the control handle 41 is transmitted through the levers 42 and 44 and the link 43 to the shaft 43 to pivot the trip levers 35'. The trip levers 39 are held in either their horizontal position, or their upwardly pivoted position by an over center block mechanism generally indicated at 45 in the drawings.

Driving power for the duplicating machine is supplied from a motor 46 supported beneath the feed tray 29. Motor 46 drives a worm 48 which is journalled in bracket member 49 supported between the side frames 20, 21 on the tie rods 22 and 23. A drive gear 51 is mounted above the worm 48 in driving engagement therewith and is fixed on a shaft 51 journalled between side frame 29 and bracket member 49. Shaft 51 drives a clutch 47 which is controlled by a lever 47a and a solenoid 47b to provide intermittent operation of the machine. Clutch 47 drives a pulley 52 which in turn drives a belt 53. Belt 53 is trained around a pulley 54 that is fixed to one end of the platen roller 35 between the side frame 20 and the adjacent lever arm 36. Driving power is transmitted through the clutch 47 from motor 46 and thereby to the pulley 52, belt 53 and pulley 54- to rotate the platen roller 35. The platen roller 35 drives drum 28 by frictional engagement.

It is to be noted that a more complete description of the driving and operational controls is not deemed necessary, since they do not directly affect the operation of the moistening means which is the subject of this invention. Various drive systems, mechanical or electrical, may be used with this means, and may either drive drum 28 directly or indirectly, as may be desired.

As hereinbefore described, the copy sheets 32 are advanced into the bight between the platen roller 35 and the drum 28 by the feed roller 33. The feed roller 33 is driven intermittently during each revolution of the drum 28. The means for driving the feed roller 33 are shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 3 of the drawings. As illustrated in FIGURE 3, the platen roller 35 and the feed roller 33 have knurled wheels d and 55 fixed at their ends between the side frame 21 and the adjacent lever arm 36. A rubber idler roller 57 is positioned between the knurled wheels 55 and 56, and is journalled on a frame 58 which is pivoted to the stub shaft 37 of the lever arm 35. The frame 58 is movable up and down to move the idler roller 57 into and out of engagement with the knurled wheels 55 and 56. When the framework 53 is pivoted upwardly to bring the roller 57 into engagement with the wheels 55 and 56, power is transmitted from the wheel 55 on the platen roller 35 through the idler roller 57 and to the knurled wheel 56 to drive the feed roller 33. The driving control mechanism, indicated generally by the numeral 52 is provided at the end of the drum 28 adjacent the side frame 21 and is operable to raise and lower the frame 58 to move the-idler roller 57 into and out of engagement with the knurled wheels 55 and 56 during each revolution of the drum 28. This control mechanism 59 includes means to depend upon a liquid of a well known type to cause a transfer of the indicia on the master sheet to the copy sheet. The faces of the copy sheets to be imprinted are coated with the liquid before they are brought into engagement with master sheet. In the duplicating machine described herein, the liquid is spread upon one face of each copy sheet 32 by means of the moistening roller 34. As illustrated in the drawings, the moistening roller 34 is supplied with liquid from a fountain 60 supported between the side frames 29 and 21. The manner in which liquid is supplied from fountain 6h constitutes the substance of this invention and is shown in detail in FIG- URES 6-12 inclusive. The fountain 60' comprises a generally rectangular frame 120. A shield 121 separates the frame 12% from drum 28 to prevent splashing on the master sheet. The frame is divided into two compartments by a vertical wall 122 which slopes toward the front of the machine to form the bottom 123 of fountain 69. A ledge 124 protrudes rearwardly from the bottom of vertical wall 122. The frame 120 is supported by brackets 125 which are mounted on rod 24 adjacent to walls 21; and 21 and is also connected to shield 121. The end of fountain 6% adjacent to wall 21) has formed therein a liquid well 80 through which liquid is fed from a container 71 in the same manner as previously disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,856,847, referred to above. Each end of fountain 60 has a forward vertical groove 123 and a rear vertical groove 13% in which the moistening apparatus is mounted.

The wick moistening apparatus comprises three units, the moistening roller 34, a wick assembly 131 and a backing plate 132. The moistening roller 34 is rotatably supported by two elongated bars 156 which are slidably seated in the grooves 13% of fountain 60. Roller 34 usually rests on the ledge 124-. Roller 34 is mounted directly above the operating position of feed roller 33. It is formed of resilient uniform material such as rubber.

The wick assembly consists of a metal wick locater plate 133 made of non-corrosive metal. Plate 133 has a top surface 134 which has two projections 135 bent downwardly in square form to provide guides which are slidably engaged in the forward vertical grooves 128 of fountain 60. A forward wall 136 which is bent downwardly from surface 134 supports a wick container 137 at either end. The wick container 137 is shown suswhich has a lower pocket 138 formed on it and is closed pended from two pins 140, but may also be formed integrally with plate 133 if desired. The upper surface 134 of plate 133 has attached to it two vertical handles 141 which are used in lifting the wick apparatus into and out of the machine.

Mounted across the top surface 134 of plate 133 are three wick locator pins 142 which have cylindrical shanks of a height equal to the thickness of the transfer wick 143 and an enlarged top portion. The transfer wick 143 is formed from a rectangular section of absorbent material, such as Dacron felt, which has low friction characteristics and a high capacity for transferring liquid. The wick 143 extends at one end rearward of plate 133 and rests on surface 134 secured by pins 142 which extend through three holes cut in wick 143 having a diameter equal to that of the pin shanks. The remaining end of wick 143 is bent over the wick container 137 and fits into the pocket 138. The bottom of pocket 138 has two apertures 344 cut through it and opening into pocket 138. These are quite small holes, of the order of inch. The wick is formed with two notches 14S cut into its end in pocket 138 directly above apertures 144. These notches allow a pool to form in pocket 138 directly above each aperture 144. In assembly, pocket 138 rests in the liquid in fountain 68. Only liquid which has passed through apertures 144 is carried by wick 143 by capillary action. Apertures 144 therefore limit the rate of flow of liquid in wick 143. Notches 145 greatly increase the initial flow of liquid and thereby remove the need for a waiting period while wick 143 initially soaks up liquid.

The plate 133 also supports a wiper wick locater 146 which is formed in a channel. The upper portion of the channel has attached to it two pins 147 which extend through slots 14?: in upper surface 134 and. which are capped by washers 15%. These pins 147 slidably support the wick locater 146. The rearward leg 151 of the channel is bent outward at 152. A wiper wick 153 of absorptive felt is held between the leg 151, portion 152 and a depending ledge 154 formed on the plate 133. The forward leg 157 of the channel on locater 146 is abutted by a spring 3.55 which is riveted at its center to the forward wall 136 of plate 133. Spring 155 serves to urge the wiper wick locater 146 in a rearward direction and holds wiper wick 153 in place. The wiper wick 153 is not otherwise gripped, so as to be readily replaceable when necessary.

As stated before, the wick assembly is located in the fountain of by slidably engaging the projections 135 in the forward grooves 123. The transfer wick 143 rests at its rearward end on the top portion of moistening roller 34 and has its forward end supported in pocket 138 which is in the fountain liquid. The rear leg T51 of the wiper wick locater is positioned adjacent wall 122 between wall 122 and roller 34. Spring 155 therefore urges the wiper wick 133 against roller 34. The spring 155 and leg 157 of the channel on the wiper wick locater are positioned forward of wall 122. The surface 134 of the plate 133 rests flush with the top surface of the fountain frame 120, and is rigidly positioned by the projections 135.

The transfer wick backing plate 132 is formed of a metal sheet which has a flat top portion 163 that is cut at 167. and 162 so as to clear the handles 141 on plate 133 in assembly. The outer edges of portion 160 have formed thereon stepped ledges 163 whose function will be fully explained below. These ledges 163 are spaced beyond the width of the fountain oil.

The forward portion of the plate 132 is bent downwardly at rat to form a cover that fits into frame 123 inside the forward wall 165 of fountain 6t Projections 156 which are bent outwardly from portion 164 serve to vertically position the forward end of plate 132 by resting on the top of frame 12 A handle 167 is provided for lifting plate 132.

A transfer wick engaging and compressing member 163 is positioned directly above the roller 34 so as to press the transfer wick against the roller 34. This member, as shown, is of channel shape in cross section. This channel is suspended from the rear portion of plate 132 by means of two pins 173 riveted rigidly to channel 168. The pins 179 project through apertures cut into plate 132 and are capped by enlarged washers 171. A transfer wick spring 172 is riveted at its central section to the top of channel 163 and abuts the lower surface of the flat portion tea on plate 132. The channel extends substantially across the width of the transfer wick 143 and must have a smooth fiat lower surface. In assembly, the channel 163 rests on wick 143 directly above and slightly rearward of the adjacent surfaces of roller 34 and wick 143. The spring 172 evenly distributes pressure from plate 132 to the channel 168 and thereby to wick 143 to urge the wick into engagement along its width with the moistening roller 34.

In order for the transfer wick 14-3 to supply moisture to the roller 34 in the proper amounts, a certain amount of downward pressure must be exerted upon the backing plate 132. This pressure is supplied by means of pressure arms 63 which are pivoted on pins 64 secured to the fountain 60 as best shown in FIGURE 3. The pressure arm 63 have portions 6311 which overlie the stepped ledges 163 on plate 132. Plate 132 when it is pressed down by downward movement of portions 63a against the ledges 163 in turn engages the top surface of bars which rotatably support the roller 34. Thus when the rollers 33 and 34 are in sheet moistening position the spacing between the plate 132 and the roller 34 is a fixed amount and the pressure of the channel member 138 against the transfer wick is the same regardless of the thickness of paper being fed between the rollers 33 and 3 The pressure arms 63 have at their lower end horizontal pins 56 which are engaged by lever arms 67 pivoted on pins 67a mounted on the lever arms 36 which carry the feed roller 33 and platen roller 35. The levers 67 have blocks as fixed thereon, and similar blocks 69 are fixed to the lever arms as adjacent to the levers 67. Springs 73 are interposed between the blocks 68 and 69 and urge the arms 67 upwardly against the pins 66 on the pressure arms 63. This force is communicated through the pressure arms 63 to the ledges 163 to bring the plate 132 against the bars 156 when the rollers 33 and 34 are brought together. The lever arms 36 are pivoted downwardly by actuation of the trip levers 39 to lower the platen roller 35 and the feed roller 33 away from the drum 28 and moistening roller 34 respectively. When the arms 36 are lowered the arm 67 is also lowered away from the pressure arm 63 whereby to remove the downward pressure from the backing plate 132 to prevent wick 143 and roller 34 from developing a fiat spot or imperfections in their surfaces when the machine is left idle.

The fountain 64? is supplied with liquid from a container 71 which is mounted thereover between the side frames 22' and 21. The container 71 has a filling opening 72 in the top thereof which is closed by an air and liquid tight closure 73. The container 71 is supported at its end adjacent to the side frame 23 upon a depending foot member 74 which rests upon a pedestal member 75 supported at the adjacent end of the fountain 60. As illustrated best in FIGURE 6 the foot 74 has a slot 76 therein which receives a pin 77 that projects upwardly from the pedestal 75' to maintain the container 71 in proper position. At the opposite end of the container 71 a valve unit 73 is provided. The valve unit 78 includes a downwardly extending outlet 79 which is received in a well 33 formed in the adjacent end of the fountain 6%. A valve actuating stem 81 projects downwardly through the bottom of the outlet 79 and rests in the bottom of the well 3%. The stem 81 is connected to a valve within the unit 78 in such a way that when it is moved upwardly with respect to the outlet 7? it opens the valve that permits the flow from the container 71 through the outlet 79. The stem 31 is spring pressed downwardly to project below the lower end of the outlet 79 and to maintain the valve closed. The construction of the valve unit 7 8 and the connection of the stem 31 thereto is not shown in detail herein since it is identical to the valve mechanism disclosed in my prior Patent No. 2,856,847 cited above. Suffice it to say that the valve may be opened to permit liquid to flow from the container 71 through the outlet 79 and into the fountain 63 by forcing the valve unit 78 downwardly to bring the bottom end of the outlet 79 into engagement with the bottom of the well 3%, thereby moving the stem 81 up wardly with respect to the valve unit 78. The valve may be closed by removing the downward Pressure against the valve unit 78 whereby to permit the stem 81 to be spring pressed downwardly to close the valve.

The mechanism for applying downward force on the valve unit 78 to open the valve and allow liquid to flow into the fountain so is shown best in FIGURE 3. As shown in this figure lever 82 is pivoted to the side frame 21 on the stub shaft 83. The lever 82 has an offset portion 82a at its rearward end which carries a valve unit engaging head 34 which is adapted to engage with and exert a downward pressure upon the valve unit 78. The opposite end of the lever 83 is pivoted to a vertical link 85 which in turn is pivoted to a crank 86 pivoted intermediate its end on a stub shaft 87 supported on the side frame 21. The lower end of the crank 86 is pivotally connected to a rearwardly extending link 38 that is connected to the feed roller and platen roller supporting lever 35 adjacent the side frame 21. It will be understood from examination of FIGURE 3 that when the lever as is pivoted about its stub shaft 37 to bring the platen roller 35 and the feed roller 33 into engagement with the drum 28 and the moistening roller 34 respectively, the link 88 pivots the crank 86 about its pivot point 87 to cause the link 85 to be moved upwardly. The upward movement of the link 85 pivots the lever 32 about its pivot point 33 to exert the necessary downward force on the valve unit 78 to open the valve therein and permit liquid flow from the container 71. to the fountain 649. When the feed roller and platen roller supporting lever arm 36 is pivoted downwardly to lower the feed roller 33 and the platen roller 35, the link 88 pivots the crank 36 in the opposite direction to lower the link 85 and pivot the lever 82 upwardly to remove the force from the valve unit 78 whereby to permit the valve to be closed. With this construction a constant liquid supply is maintained to the fountain 60 at all times when the platen roller 35 and the feed roller 33 are in operative position but is not supplied to the fountain 6% when the feed roller 33 and plated roller 35 are lowered to inoperative position.

As described later herein, the copy sheets 32 stacked on the feed tray 29 are fed into the bight between the feed roller 33 and the moistening roller 34 by the copy sheet feeder 31. As shown best in FIGURES 2 and 4 the feeder 31 comprises a housing unit 89 pivoted at one end to a shaft 945 which is journalled between the side frames 26 and 21 in front of the fountain 6d. The housing 89 extends forwardly from the shaft 96 and carries at its forward end a cross shaft 91 which has two sheet feeding rubber wheels 92 fixed thereon. Within the housing 89 drive means (not shown) are provided to rotate the shaft 91 in response to rotation of the shaft 99. Thus, by driving the shaft 90, the copy sheet feeding wheels 92 can be driven to slide the top copy sheet 32 from the stack on the feed tray 29 into the bight between the feed roller 33 and the moistening roller 34. The cross shaft 9i) has a drive roller 93 fixed thereon near its end adjacent the side frame 20. The cross shaft 94 journalled between the side frames 23 and 2f behind the shaft 96 carries a quadrantal drive segment 95 thereon which is aligned to engage with and drive the roller 93 for a short period during each revolution of the shaft 94. The shaft 9 is drivingly connected to the drum shaft 27 by cooperating gears 96 and 97 fixed to the shaft 94 and the drum shaft 27 respectively adjacent the side frame 20. The gears 96 and 97 rotate the cross shaft 94 once for each rotation of the drum 28. Segment 95 is so positioned on the shaft 94 that it will drive the roller 93, and consequently the feeder 3i, at the proper time to advance a copy sheet to the bight between the rollers 33 and 34 just before the feed roller 33 is driven. As soon as the segment 95 moves past the drive wheel 93, all driving engagement is removed and the shaft 9:? and the feeder wheels 92 are free to rotate as the copy sheet is advanced by the roller 33 and 34. A handwheel 174 is 2f. Shaft extends beyond side plate 21 and has attached to it a handle 173 to facilitate manual adjustment.

Cams 176 move slidable links 180 which in turn vary the position of rod 4% to increase or decrease the roller pressure. The adjustable device is fully explained in my prior Patent No. 2,722,885, issued on November 8, 1955 for Pressure Control for Duplicating Machines.

The operational controls for the motor 46 and clutch 7 may be of any desired design for automatic, intermittent or manual operation of the machine. .Such controls are not shown, and do not directly affect the subject matter of this invention. Therefore they will not be described more fully herein.

The operation of this machine is as follows: When the machine is at rest, handle 41 is left in its upper position. This releases pressure roller 35 from contact with drum 28 and feed roller 33 from contact with moistening roller 34. See FIGURE ll. t also removes lever arms 67 from contact with pins es on pressure arms 63 thereby relieving downward pressure on the stepped ledges 163 on the transfer wick backing plate 132. Only the weight of the plate 132 remains on the wick 143, thereby preventing any undue compression or hardening of the wick or roller 34. The valve unit 78 will be released by lever 32 and will prevent any transfer of additional liquid to the fountain 60.

When the machine is to be operated,- handle 4 1 is pushed downward and roller 35 is brought into pressurized contact with drum 28. As shown best in FIGURE 12, this also urges reed roller 33 into pressing engagement with moistening roller 34. Roller 34 is pushed upward in grooves 138 by the contact of roller 33. The top of bars 156 supporting roller 34 likewise slide upward as shown in FiGURE 3. Bars 156 urge the transfer wick backing plate 132 upward. This upward movement is resisted by the downward pressure exerted by springs 7 against arms 67, pins 66 and pressure arms d3 which act on stepped ledges 163 to urge the backing plate 132 downward against the top ends of the bars 156. The distance between the plate 132 and the roller 34 is thus fixed. However sheets passing between rollers 33 and 34 may raise roller 34 more or less depending on the thickness of the sheets. The springs 70 absorb this variation and press the arms 67 against the pins 66 to ceep the plate 132 resting on the bars 156. The transfer wick spring 172 evenly distributes its fixed pressure across channel 168 to bear against'the top surface of the transfer wick 143. This insures a proper controlled pressure distributed across wick 143 to contact the moistening roller 34. s

As previously described, liquid will flow through wick 143 to the moistening roll 34 and will be deposited on roller 34 as it revolves. This liquid is then wiped by the wiper wick 153, which absorbs any excess liquid and insures the spreading of a uniform liquid film on the moistening roller 34. This film is then deposited on the copy sheets a as they are fed between the feed roller 33 and the moistening roller 34. It is to be noted that since the liquid film distributed by wiper wick 153 is deposited only while the roller 34 is rotated, and since roller 34 is rotated only as a copy sheet is fed into the machine, the moistening of roller 34 is thereby automatically synchronized with the input of copy sheets. The wiper wick 153 serves two purposes. it removes excess liquid from moistening roller 34. This liquid is then quickly evaporated or distributed uniformly along the wick. It also deposits a uniform film of liquid on the roller 34 if needed, thereby insuring proper moistening action. Should any liquid fall on feed roller 33 it is also quickly evaporated and is of no consequence. The absorptive capability of wiper wick 153 removes all need for priming the machine between fillings. The transfer wick 143 is immediately filled with fluid when lever 82 operates valve 78 to fill fountain 60, requiring no initial priming. Every copy sheet is thereby printed with uniform quality. As the ink on the master sheet is Worn off, adjustment of handle 178 will increase pressure between roller 35 and drum 28 to enable more bright copies to be made.

In some applications of duplicating machines it is found to be more desirable to employ a roller moistening apparatus in place of the wick assembly just described. Such an apparatus is readily interchangeable in the present invention and is shown in assembly in FIGURES 13-16. To make such a conversion, the handle 41 is lifted, thereby releasing rollers 33, 34 and the pressure arms 63. The transfer wick backing plate 132 is then lifted and removed by means of handle 167. The handles 141 are then used to remove the wick assembly 131 from the fountain 60. The moistening roller 34 is then lifted out by raising the bars 156 out of the grooves 139 in the fountain frame 120 to complete the disassembly.

The three rollers are then set in place. The moistening roller 181 is slidably mounted in the rear vertical grooves 130 of fountain 60 by means of a square bushing 182. Roller 181 will rest on ledge 124 when not in use. The fountain roller 183 has similar bushing mounts 184 at each end which are slidably inserted into the forward grooves 128 of fountain 60. This positions the lower portion of fountain roller 183 below the fountain liquid level of the operating machine. A transfer roller 185, formed of slightly porous resilient material, rests between the rollers 181 and 183. The transfer roller 185 is longer than rollers 181, 183 and has rotatable mounting blocks 186 mounted at both of its ends. These blocks are located directly below the pressure arms 63 so as to be contacted by the arms 63 when they are lowered. When handle 41 is lowered, the force of springs 70 will be communicated through the pressure arms 63 as a downward force on the transfer roller 185. Release of the handle 41 will remove the downward pressure and prevent the rollers from developing fiat sections or imperfections in their surfaces while the machine is idle. Since a roller moistening apparatus of this general design is shown in my prior Patent No. 2,856,847 cited above, further description of this feature and its operation will not be given. The use of interchangeable systems of moistening the paper wherein both the wick and the transfer roller are pressed by the same mechanical components to provide a controlled moistening apparatus is the very heart of this improvement over the prior patents and developments in this field.

Various modifications may present themselves to one skilled in the art by use of mechanical equivalents in this invention. Since the above machine is exemplary of only one application of the invention to a particular duplicating machine, the scope of the invention is not to be limited except as defined in the following claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a duplicating machine having a drum adapted to mount a master sheet thereon, a platen roller adapted to press copy sheets against the drum, a copy sheet feeding roller and a copy sheet moistening roller adapted to engage a copy sheet and advance it to the drum and platen roller, the copy sheet feeding roller being movable between an upper position supporting the moistening roller and a lower position spaced from the moistening roller, and means adapted to rotate said drum and rollers, the improvement for supplying liquid to the moistening roller comprising a generally rectangular fountain frame located substantially parallel to the drum comprising a liquid holding fountain with end extensions directed from the fountain toward the drum, said extensions having an aligned pair of vertical roller guide grooves therein, bearing members rotatably supporting the sheet moistening roller and seated in said grooves for vertical movement relative to said fountain frame, the fountain frame having stop means thereon adapted to limit the downward movement of the moistening roller relative to said fountain frame, said fountain frame having forward vertical grooves at the ends of the fountain, a transfer wick supporting plate mounted on the fountain frame and having portions removably seated in said forward vertical grooves, a wick overlying said plate and secured thereto with one end portion of the wick extending into the fountain and the other end portion extending beyond the plate and resting upon the moistening roller.

2. In a duplicating machine having a drum adapted to mount a master sheet thereon, a platen roller adapted to press copy sheets against the drum, a copy sheet feeding roller and a copy sheet moistening roller adapted to engage a copy sheet and advance it to the drum and platen roller, the copy sheet feeding roller being movable between an upper position supporting the moistening roller and a lower position spaced from the moistening roller, and means adapted to rotate said drum and rollers, the improvement for supplying liquid to the moistening roller comprising a generally rectangular fountain frame located substantially parallel to the drum comprising a liquid holding fountain with end extensions directed from the fountain toward the drum, said extensions having an aligned pair of vertical roller guide grooves therein, bearing members rotatably supporting the sheet moistening roller and seated in said grooves for vertical movement relative to said fountain frame, the fountain frame having stop means thereon adapted to limit the downward movement of the moistening roller relative to said fountain frame, said fountain frame having forward vertical grooves at the ends of the fountain, a transfer wick supporting plate mounted on the fountain frame and having portions removably seated in said forward vertical grooves, a wick overlying said plate and secured thereto with one end portion of the wick extending into the fountain and the other end portion extending beyond the plate and resting upon the moistening roller, and means overlying said wick operable by movement of the copy sheet feeding roller upwardly into position to support the moistening roller to exert a constant pressure upon the portion of the wick overlying the moistening roller.

3. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the wick supporting plate has an apertured pocket extending into the fountain and housing the end portion of the wick that extends into the fountain.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the wick supporting plate has a wiper wick suspended therefrom between the moistening roller and the fountain.

5. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein said means to exert a constant pressure on the wick comprises a plate having a forward portion removably sealed on the fountain frame and having a spring mounted bar positioned rearwardly of the fountain and resting on the wick.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,262,511 Morrison Nov. 11, 1941 2,722,886 Keil Nov. 8, 1955 2,754,752 Robinson July 17, 1956 2,830,534 Springer et al Apr. 15, 1958 2,867,169 Keil Jan. 6, 1959 

